Britain plans to house migrants in tents in case of an increase in arrivals: Media

The British government is planning to house migrants in tents to cope with any increase in small boats crossing the English Channel in the coming months, according to reports from British media on Friday.

The Home Office has purchased tents capable of accommodating up to two thousand migrants and plans to set them up in deserted military sites by the end of August, several British media outlets reported.

This move comes after an increase in the number of migrants arriving on the southeastern coasts of England last summer, which led to criticism of the government for being unprepared and unable to handle the scale of the task.

However, the tent plan has faced criticism from some ministers, with the British newspaper "The Times" reporting that some officials likened it to detention camps.

The report comes after a judge in the British Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the government's use of hotels to house unaccompanied migrant children is "unlawful."

The increase in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel has strained the resources of the British government and sparked political disputes over their treatment.

As of December 2022, over 160,000 people were awaiting decisions on their asylum applications.

Meanwhile, thousands more have arrived on British coasts, and more are expected between August and October.

The British government seeks to halt the influx of migrants through the new "Illegal Immigration" law, issued last week, which prohibits all arrivals through the English Channel and other "irregular" routes from applying for asylum.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel has introduced controversial housing policies aimed at reducing the use of expensive hotel rooms in the asylum system, which currently costs six million pounds sterling per day to accommodate migrants.

The ship "HMC Seeker" docked at the English port of Portland on the Channel coast is set to receive migrants starting from Tuesday, despite local outrage.

Opposition Labour deputy Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio that reports of the tents indicate the failure of the Conservative party's policies.

"They promised to end the chaos, but they don't actually expect that to succeed," she said.

Tim Naor Hilton, head of the organization "Refugee Action," described the reports as "shocking."

In response, the Home Office said in a statement, "We were clear that using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers was not acceptable."

"We continue to work with the government and local authorities to consider a range of accommodation options."

It added, "The accommodation provided to asylum seekers meets our legal and contractual requirements based on non-choiceability."


AFP